Metal-handling device.



No. 802,131. PATENTED 0031.17, 1905. H. AIKEN.

METAL HANDLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 3. 1904.

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110.802,131. ,PATENTED 001". 17, 1905. H. AIKEN.

METALv HANDLING DEVICE.

ABPLIOATION FILED AUG. 3. 1904.

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PATENTED 00T. 17, 1905. H. AIKEN.

METAL HANDLING DEVICE.

APPLIQATION FILED AUG. s. 1904.

fun" u ll l2 10.802,131. PATENTED OCT. 17,1905.

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METAL HANDLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 3. 1904.

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WITNESSES INVENTOR PATENT oEEIoE.

HENRY AIKEN, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.V

METAL-HANDLING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented oet. 17,1905.

applicati@ nea August 3,1904.. serial No. 219,288.

To @ZZ whom it may concer-11,:

Be it known that I, HENRY AIKEN, of Pittsburg, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Metal-Handling Devices, of which the follow'- ing is afull, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus. F ig. 2 is an elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the lower part of the apparatus, on a larger scale, partially in section; and Fig. 4 is an end elevation of Fig. 3, partly in section.

Heretofore in steel plants where ingots are stripped from molds it has been customary to use separate mechanism for stripping the molds and for carrying the ingots when stripped to and from the heating-furnace. This requires a double set of apparatus and a double crew of men to operate them. It is the purpose of my invention to provide a single machine adapted to perform either kind of work as desiredwthat is to say, either to grip an ingot or to grasp an ingot-mold or like object without necessarily exerting thereon the degree of force required in gripping. The use of such apparatus serves to simplify the machinery of the mill and to reduce greatly the labor cost.

I will now describe the preferable construction ofthe apparatus, premising that those skilled in the art will be able to modify it in various ways without departure from my invention as stated in the claims.

The tongs and their accessories, which constitute, my invention, are carried by a carriage or trolley 2 of suitable construction, preferably mounted upon a traveling crane 3, which travels upon an elevated track.

4 is the motor, which drives the trolley along the track. Depending from the trolley 2 is a frame 5, which carries the screws and the auxiliary motor about to be described.

6 6 are screws which extend vertically in the frame 5 and are rotated at their upper ends by gearing 7 7, driven by a motor 8. Each of these screws is stationary against vertical movement and has mounted upon it a nut 9, which travels vertically between guides 10 as the screws are rotated. Links 11 extend downwardly from the nuts and effect the lifting of the tongs, as described below. The links are connected at their lower ends to a crossof which is to afford a loose connection be-y tween the cross-head 12 and the frame or head 14 of the tongs, to which the lower ends of the arms are attached. Instead of these jointed arms other means affording like loose connection, such as chainsy or rods provided with vertical slots, may be substituted, thepurpose being that when the tongs-frame 14 is lowered, as shown in Fig. 2, the arms 13 or other loose connection will be straightened out and rendered taut and will then exert a supporting action upon the frame or head 1.4 of the tongs.

15 15 are the jaws of the tongs, which are pivoted to the head at 16, the arms 16 of the jaws crossing each other and being connected by tongs operating arms or links 17 with the cross-head 12. The head 14 is provided with auxiliary supporting mechanism composed of hangers or links 18, jointed at the middle or otherwise capable of yielding and being ren dered loose, so as to transfer the weight of the tongs upon the supporting connection 13, as explained below. The links 18 are connected to the tongs-head at the lower end and at the upper end are connected to acollar 19, which is attached to a sleeve 20, the upper end ofwhich is fixed to across-head 21, mounted upon a cam 22, which is stepped upon a seat 23.

Rollers 24 are preferably applied to the cross-head 21 to diminish the friction. The cam 22 is annular in form, with the inclined or cam surface on its upper edge. It is provided with an encircling gear 25, and it is rotated by a pinion 26 on a squared or splined shaft 27, which is driven through a beveled gear 28 by a motor 29, mounted on the frame 5, so that by rotating the shaft 27 the cam 22 will be turned and acting on the cross-head 21 through the wheels 24 will raise and lower the link connection 18 with the supported tongs-head 14.

Suppose the parts to be in the position shown in Fig. 3, in which the connection 13 is loose and the tongs-head is supported by the hangers 18. Then if it is desired to 0perate the tongs 15 for the purpose of gripping an ingot the cam 22 is turned sufciently to lower the collar 19 and to cause the weight of the jaws to be borne by the links 17 from the cross-head 12. This will cause the lower end of the jaws to approach to such an extent as TOO to grip an interposed ingot or otherl object- B, the tongs being provided with grippingspurs 30 for this purpose. When the object is thus grasped, it is evident that its gravity acting upon the jaws of the tongs increases and intensifies the gripping action. To release the object from the tongs, the cam 22 is reversed, so as to raise the cross-head 21 into the position shown in Fig. 3. This lifts the sleeve 19 and transfers the weight of the tongs` to the hangers 18, whereupon the links 17 will cause the jaws to open and release their hold upon the object. During these motions of gripping and release the arms 13 13 remain loose and inactive and do not interfere with the operation of the hangers 18 or links 17.

If it is desired to use the tongs for raising an ingot-mold or like object without gripping it with a Vgravity-gripping action, as above described, the operator removes from the jaws the spurs 30, which for this purpose are readily detachable, and the jaws, which are of stirrup form, as shown in Fig. 4, are then adapted to make lifting' engagement with the usual lugs 31k on the sides of the ingot-mold C, as shown in Fig. 2. The operator then brings the tongs over the ingot-mold, and by lowering the links 11 lowers the tongs so that the jaws shall be on the opposite sides of the mold under the lugs. The cam 22 is then turned so as to bring the wheels 24 to thelowest portion of the cam, and thus to lower the cross-head 21 and the collar 19, which is connected thereto. This loosens the connection 18 and transfers the Weight of the tongs-head 14 to the jointed arms 13. The head 14 then descends until the arms 13'are straightened out, as shown in Fig. 2, and the jaws being held by the links 17, connected to the arms 16, are moved together to a position of closer approach than before and to a definite distance of separation from each other, which is limited by the distance to which the links 18 will descend before straightening the arms 13. The degree of their approach is so determined that the jaws will come into engagement with the ingot-mold beneath the lugs 31, which they will hold without the gravity-gripping action above described. The ingot-mold is then raised by elevating the links 11 by means of the motors on the trolley and is carried by the trolley and deposited upon a car or other desired support. Then to release the tongs from the mold the cam 22 is reversed so as to elevate the cross-head 21 and to transfer the weight of the tongs-head 14 from the connection 13 to the connection 18, which then lifts the tongs-head into the position shown in Fig'. 3. The arms 16 of the jaws being connected to the links 17 thereupon open the jaws and release the ingot-mold. It will thus be seen that the cam 22 and its associated mechanism are adapted to operate in conjunction with either of the link supports 18 or 13, and when operating with the latter they so completely release the head-.14 Vfrom thesupport of the links 18 that it is entirely carried by links 13 and the degree of approach of the jaws 15 is definitely determined by the relative lengths of the members 13 and .17, as shown in Fig. 2. The arms 13 therefore bear the strain of stripping the ingot, and as the work of stripping exerts upon the device very much greater strain than the mere lifting of the ingot'the arms 13 are preferably made of much greater cross-section than the links 17 and 18. When the tongs are thus employed for holding an ingot-mold, they are used in conjunction with a central post 32, which is common in ingot-stripping mechanism, being described and claimed in certain prior patents granted to me. This post is movable vertically, so as to bring it in contact with the surface of the ingot during the operation of stripping the mold by means of a vertical screw-shaft 33operating a traveling nut to which the post 32 is connected. This screw-shaft is rotated through gearing 34from a motor 35 on the frame. p

It will be understood that the electric motors, screw connections, and cam which are' illustrated in the drawings may be replaced by other suitable lifting mechanism operated by water, compressed air, or other means.

My improved mechanism affords in a single apparatus a double-acting device which can be used at will either for grasping an ingotmold or can be employed in the ordinary manner of ingot-gripping tongs and that tliis is effected by providing the tongs-head with two supporting devices 18 and 13, which are used separately, one of which supports the tongshead in gripping position and the other of which supports the tongs-head with the jaws in a grasping position of closer approach. Each of these supporting devices acts in conjunction with the links 17, which are connected to the arms or levers of the tongs, so

vthat by slackening or tautening the supporting-links 18 and eXing or straightening the links 13 the jaws of the tongs can be opened and closed, both when acting to grip anvingot and when acting to seize a mold for the purpose of stripping it.

The skilled mechanic will be able to modify the apparatus in many particulars without substantially changing its principle of action.

1 claim- 1. Mechanism for handling metal comprising jaws and a plurality of means for operating said jaws, adapted respectively to cause their approach to different distances; substantially as described.

2. Mechanism for handling metal comprising jaws and a plurality of means for operating said jaws, adapted respectively to cause their approach to different distances, one of said means being adapted to bring the jaws together to a definite degree of approach; substantially as described.

IOO

IIO

per comprising a tongs-head, tongs and a stripping-post, tongs-operating arms or links and two independent supports for the tongshead, one of said supports having lifting mechanisms adapted to support the head at different positions relatively to the point of support of the tongs-operating arms; substantially as described.

6. A combined ingot-tongs and mold-stripper comprising jaws, means for supporting the jaws and actuating them to grip an ingot and independent means for supporting them when grasping an ingot-mold; substantially as described.

7. A combined ingot-tongs and mold-stripper comprising jaws, a stripping-post 'and a plurality of independently-operating means for moving said jaws, said means being adapted respectively to give said jaws different degrees of approach to grasp either an ingot or a mold; substantially as described.

8. A combined ingot-tongs and mold-stripper'comprising a head and lifting mechanism, a loose support between the head and'lifting mechanism to sustain the tongs-head during the stripping of the mold and a second support adapted to sustain the tongs-head during ingot-gripping; and means for raising and lowering the second support', substantially as described.

9. A combined ingot-to'ngs and mold-stripper comprising a head and lifting mechanism, a loose support between the head and lifting mechanism to sustain the tongs-head during the stripping of the mold, a second support adapted to sustain the tongs-head during'iny got-gripping, means for raising and lowering the second support and a stripping-post; substantially as described.

10. The combination of a tongs-head, jaws supported in said head, jointed supports 13 for the head, independently-movable supports 18 for the head, and links 17 for the jaws; substantially as described.

11. Mechanism for handling metal comprising jaws, a plurality of sets of link-supports for said jaws, and means adapted to operate in conjunction with each set of link-supports, to cause the jaws to approachto different distances; substantially as described.

12. Mechanism for handling metal,compris ing jaws and a plurality of supporting means of respectively different sizes, and connections whereby the weight of the jaws is shifted from one of the supporting means to the other; substantially as described.

13. Mechanism for handling metal comprising a tongs-head, links of small section and independent links of larger section for supporting said head, jaws pivoted in said head 'and operating-links connected to said jaws;

substantially as described.

THOMAS W. BAKEWELL, H. M. CoRwIN. 

